Radiance
by EnderSteve
Summary: First person survival story of a post apocalyptic Minecraft world. A 15 year old boy finds himself and his childhood friend stranded in a land where the undead roam, and war is around every corner. Will they be able to survive the chaos and try to bring peace to Minecraftia?


**Hello. I just thought I might as well try to write a first person fanfiction, since I haven't tried that before, and it would be a experience to try. This story is set in Minecraftia; the Shadow of Israphel server. Look out for some of those characters. I won't spoil too much, but there are references to my life in this story, so you might pick them up. If you do be sure to leave a review and suggest a reference. If you get it correct I will award you with Jaffa Cakes!**

**Before you continue, every chapter in this story would be around 2000 words. So you have plenty to expect. For example, this chapter is 2094 words (excluding this intro). Just a quick note - I'm also the author for 'A War Against Withers', so if you liked that, I'm sure you would like this as well.**

**This story is also available on Yogscast Wiki, and you can view a more detailed version there.**

**Have fun reading! **

* * *

Aura allowed her hands to tighten the bandage of where my eye socket lay.

"I'm ok. It doesn't hurt as much now. I lost one eye, I still have one left, don't worry," I said.

"It's my fault...you gave up so much to protect me, and what have I done?" she sniffed.

"In this shattered world, all we have is each other and ourselves. I've lost everyone. I don't want to lose you."

The knot in my throat tightened. I tried to swallow, but the sheer lack of water felt as if there was a blazing fire in my mouth. I knew I had to protect my childhood friend at all costs. She would be caught in a storm if I weren't here. Those _things_ out there would destroy her before she even went 100 blocks.

"Take a rest, you've been patching me up as best as you could. You must be dead-tired."

"You're more tired than me."

"I'm ok. Living with one eye means I use half the energy. If you don't take a break, how are you going to continue helping with my wound?"

Aura seemed doubtful, but after a few seconds of hesitating, she agreed. "I'll take a short nap. Are you going to be ok?"

"I'm fine. I'll keep watch."

As Aura settled herself in a comfortable position on a tattered couch nearby, I opened the drawer in the corner of the room and took out my book and quill. It was my sequence of events of this disaster. It contained precious pictures of my now gone family, and was the tool to get my spirit up when I sink into despair.

I flipped to the first page of the book and began looking at the pages.

_Diary Entry 25th Dec 2013_ _A lethal virus has infected and killed a large portion of people in northern Minecraftia. Reports say that the dead are "regenerating" and turning into aggressive undead creatures of the night. The king says that the situation is under control and the virus and undead will soon be eliminated, but I have to prepare for the worst. If things do get out of control, it shouldn't reach us in a short amount of time._

I flipped a few pages and continued to read.

_Diary Entry 13th January 2014_ _Several weeks after the original infection, the undead population grew rapidly and the virus has not stopped infecting more. Reports say that the power of the creatures of the night is growing. Their speed, attack and defense have rapidly increased. The king has mobilized entire armies to combat the threat, and says, "If everyone remains calm and listens to instructions, there would be no problem in protecting our homeland." The Royal Sky Force has also delivered facemasks around the nation to try and limit the spread._

_Father has been teaching me sparring in case the worst should happen. Aura said she is going to prepare a bunch of potions and treat the sick on the battlefield when she is older._

Memories flashed of back then and I flipped forward.

_Diary Entry 21st March 2014_ _The situation is getting out of hand. Our armies are being pushed back despite our best efforts. A quarter of Minecraftia has fallen. I'd expect the dwarves to act by now, since the Skylords are already moving their airships into position to face the enemy. The king has issued a state of emergency and has ordered any fit adult male to join the battle and also employed many women to work as nurses and assistants._

_I want to go. But I'm only 14 and not old enough. If this continues, everyone will sure be dead. The virus has slowed down...but not the undead._

As I kept reading, my eyelids dropped and I shook my head to try and remain conscious and not go to sleep. I knew I had pushed myself too hard. When Aura had awoken, I would sure take a good sleep to recharge my energy.

In attempt to burn time, I put down the diary and decided to check the barricades at the door. Ever since the infection reached our town, Aura and I had lived underground supplied with a huge amount of food, water and supplies. We vowed to not go to the surface until the scent of stinking bodies had lifted.

The underground room was a small hiding place, about 15 by 15 blocks surrounded by walls of stone bricks as fortifiers. There was an iron door leading to a staircase to the surface, and that was it. Apart from the drawer where I keep my diary and the tattered couch, there is also a tunnel leading down into the storage room with all the supplies, a crafting bench and a furnace.

If I was alone, I'd probably have already gone insane due to the lack of daylight and silence, but Aura was here when I needed her. I would protect her at any cost. She and I had lived here for about one year now, and even if it took centuries, I wanted to see the light. But now isn't the right time.

After checking on the barricades, eating a stale slice of bread and taking a small sip of water, Aura woke up and commented on how much better she felt.

I asked her whether it would trouble her if I went to sleep. She allowed me to take a rest, and said that she would guard the area until I woke up.

"Wake me if anything serious happens, Aura."

"Yes."

I snuggled on the couch, and checked the time. It was 19:35. Finally I allowed the waking dreams to spread across my mind and sleep cloud my thoughts.

* * *

_"Aura...Aura! Stay with me!"_

_Aura took several quick shallow breaths, glanced in my direction and closed her eyes again._

_"Why? Out of all times, does our medicine supply have to run out now?" I thought._

_Scratching me head, I pressed my head against the stone brick wall and allowed the frustration to drain out of my head, leaving a sense of determination. Aura was sick, and a fever had taken the toll. I want to protect her...but yet now I cannot, because our medicine has run out._

_I left a couple of decisions available for me to take. It took me some hesitating to decide what to do. Yes, it was the right choice._

_Grabbing my stone sword and my sheath, packing some food and tools, preparing bandages and putting on a leather helmet and tunic, I knelt my Aura and whispered. "Wait for me. Do not some looking for me, and if I don't come back, you must be strong. I will go looking for some medicine."_

_Aura stirred slightly, but did not make a move to stop me._

_Taking a deep breath, I pushed the button to the outside world. The iron door swung open and I dragged my heavy steps onto the cobblestone staircase and climbed, unsheathing my sword in the process and keeping guard of any undead creatures._

_During this time, a sense of uneasiness crept over me. If I should fail to find any medicine, Aura may not recover. But our safe had been built under our village, and medicine should be available. A trapdoor covered the entrance to the safe. Pushing the trapdoor aside, I focused by eyes on every direction before cautiously moving up and securing the trapdoor in place._

_The village was desolate, as it always had been since the force of the enemy overrun the place. The sky was grey, and ruins added to the post-apocalyptic feeling. Withered plants gathered in bundles and rotting bodies made me choke._

_Towards my right, I heard a growl of a zombie. Spinning around and readying me sword, I saw 2 zombies limping towards me. Charging up, I decapitated the first one before sidestepping and stabbing the other in the gut. It stared me with a blank expression before I inserted the sword through its spine, leaving it stumbling to the ground. I finished it with a stab through the neck._

_I knew more would be on the way, and it wasn't the time to stand here._

_Rushing to the ruins nearest to me, I searched for any potions or medicine. There was an empty bottle, but that was all. There were about a dozen houses in our village, and I doubt there would not be any medicine at all. Even it was expired, it was worth taking. Continuing to look around, I was surprised by a bow and 2 arrows, laying on a crafting bench. As I went to pick it up, a green slimy hand closed around my neck and pulled me backwards._

_I knew it was a zombie. Fumbling for my sword before it bit me, my heart sank when I saw a skeleton in front of the ruin, already holding a bow and preparing an arrow. Panicking, I tried to stab the zombie with my sword, but the green creature knocked it out of hand, where it fell to the stone below and created a ringing sound and a spark._

_"Oh no you don't!" I thought._

_Then, with the bow ready, the skeleton seemed to close one eye and target me, even know I knew it was just my imagination. At last, pulling a dagger off my belt, I sliced a deep horizontal line across the zombie's abdomen. Simultaneously, the skeleton fired the arrow; time seemed to slow as it glided serenely across the air._

_The arrow penetrated my right eye and splattered blood all over the floor. My vision grew dark and blurry, as if tears had filled my eyes. I tried to blink, but it hurt as if someone was holding a red-hot poker against my face._

_"Aura...wait for me. I will make you better, because I want to see your smile. Your smile is the best medicine."_

_Ignoring the pain and rolling behind a block of cobblestone, I took shield from the skeleton. The monster seems to hesitate, before approaching carefully with its bow and arrow ready. Quickly devising of a strategy, I popped my sword up from the block. The skeleton thought I would emerge and fired the arrow, missing the sword by inches._

_As it realized its mistake and pulled another arrow from its quiver, I jumped up and barged into it. By eyesight would not allow proper control of my sword. The strength of my charge broke its ribs, and it went tumbling several blocks on the ground._

_Double-checking that the zombie and skeleton was dead, I found a cauldron nearby and limped towards it. The item still had some water left, and I used that as a mirror. When I saw the situation of my right eye, I yelped. There was an ugly bloody mark streaming with runnels of the red liquid. And the head of the arrow had penetrated completely into my socket._

_Then I realized the truth: my eye would have to be removed, as I did not know if the arrow had poison and leaving it in would surely infect it. I had to make it quick. _

_Taking my glove off and biting on it, I took a deep breath before grabbing the arrow and pulling it out with such force that the eye came completely off. I screamed silently while biting on the glove and cursed the pain. The water in the cauldron turned red with blood._

_I remembered that I had brought bandages. Throwing the arrow and eye away, I wrapped it up as best as I could and allowed several moments of rest to let the pain subside._

_After what seemed like centuries, I checked to see if there was any undead. There wasn't. But there was what seemed like a potion near the zombie that I sliced earlier. I prayed it was a helpful potion, and made my way to it, intending to see what it was._

* * *

A jolted from the couch I was laying at, sweating and panting for breath.

"Are you all right there?" asked Aura, who was preparing some bread for dinner.

"It's ok. I just had a bad dream."

"What kind of dream?"

"The past...a dream about how I went out to look for a potion for you last month. Luckily you did get better."

"Thank you."

"My job is to protect you."

Aura paused for a moment. "It's your birthday tomorrow."

* * *

**I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you see points that I can improve on, be sure to leave a review. Detailed information on this story can be found on Yogscast Wiki.**


End file.
